Cantsfield

CANTSFIELD, a township, in the parish of Tunstall, union of Lancaster, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 5 miles (S. by E.) from Kirkby-Lonsdale; containing 114 inhabitants. Cantsfield gave name to an ancient family, whose heiress married one of the Harringtons, of Aldingham; but in the time of Edward III. it was in the possession of the Tunstalls. In the 17th century a younger branch of the Cantsfields inhabited the Hall, and a daughter of Sir J. Cantsfield, marrying Sir William Gerard, Bart., brought the estate to that family. The township, which lies on the road from Lancaster to Richmond in Yorkshire, comprises 1221a. 2r. 18p. of land. Within its limits is Thurland Castle, built by Sir Thomas Tunstall, who obtained permission from Henry IV. to fortify and kernell it: the building stands on a slightly elevated site which rises from a level bounded on the south by the Greta and on the north by the Cant; and its wings, towers, and battlements, with a deep circular moat, give it quite a fortresslike aspect. This castle sustained a long and obstinate siege, which left it a ruin, during the civil wars. The great tithes of the township have been commuted for £42, and the small tithes for £46.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, 7th edition, published in 1848.